> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flystack.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Real-Time Flights

> Track live flights worldwide with near real-time position, speed, heading, and status.

Integrate real-time flight tracking (live ADS-B style data) into your product: monitor individual flights, power flight status screens, visualize traffic on a map, or analyze airspace density and regularity.

### Authentication

<ParamField header="x-api-key" type="string" required={true}>
  Your FlyStack API token. You can create one from the dashboard (see [Authentication](/authentication)).
</ParamField>

### Query parameters

#### Area & performance

<ParamField query="bbox" type="string" required={false}>
  Bounding box: `south_lat,south_lng,north_lat,north_lng`.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="zoom" type="number" required={false}>
  Map zoom level to reduce the number of returned flights (0–11).
</ParamField>

#### Aircraft / airline / flight filters

<ParamField query="hex" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by ICAO24 hex address.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="reg_number" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by aircraft registration number.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="airline_icao" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by airline ICAO code.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="airline_iata" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by airline IATA code.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="flag" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by airline country ISO-2 code.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="flight_icao" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by flight ICAO code-number.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="flight_iata" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by flight IATA code-number.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="flight_number" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by flight number only.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="dep_icao" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by departure airport ICAO code.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="dep_iata" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by departure airport IATA code.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="arr_icao" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by arrival airport ICAO code.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="arr_iata" type="string" required={false}>
  Filter by arrival airport IATA code.
</ParamField>

#### Response shaping

<ParamField query="_fields" type="string" required={false}>
  Comma-separated list of fields to return (e.g., `hex,airline_iata,lat,lng`).
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="_view" type="string" required={false} default="object">
  View format:

  * `object`: default JSON objects
  * `array`: array rows (useful for browsers / fast rendering)
</ParamField>

<Note>
  For `_view=array`, make sure `_fields` lists fields in the exact order you want in the returned arrays.
</Note>

### Response (object view)

#### Flight response fields

<ResponseField type="array">
  <ResponseField type="object">
    <Expandable title="Live tracking" defaultOpen={false}>
      <ResponseField name="hex" type="string">
        ICAO24 hex address.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="lat" type="number">
        Latitude.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="lng" type="number">
        Longitude.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="alt" type="number">
        Altitude (meters).
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="dir" type="number">
        Heading (degrees).
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="speed" type="number">
        Horizontal speed (km/h).
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="v_speed" type="number">
        Vertical speed.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="squawk" type="string">
        Squawk code (when available).
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="updated" type="number">
        UNIX timestamp of last update.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="status" type="string">
        Flight status (`scheduled`, `en-route`, `landed`).
      </ResponseField>
    </Expandable>

    <Expandable title="Flight & airline identifiers" defaultOpen={false}>
      <ResponseField name="flight_number" type="string">
        Flight number only.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="flight_icao" type="string">
        Flight ICAO code-number.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="flight_iata" type="string">
        Flight IATA code-number.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="airline_icao" type="string">
        Airline ICAO code.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="airline_iata" type="string">
        Airline IATA code.
      </ResponseField>
    </Expandable>

    <Expandable title="Route" defaultOpen={false}>
      <ResponseField name="dep_icao" type="string">
        Departure airport ICAO code.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="dep_iata" type="string">
        Departure airport IATA code.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="arr_icao" type="string">
        Arrival airport ICAO code.
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="arr_iata" type="string">
        Arrival airport IATA code.
      </ResponseField>
    </Expandable>

    <Expandable title="Aircraft" defaultOpen={false}>
      <ResponseField name="reg_number" type="string">
        Aircraft registration number (when available).
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="flag" type="string">
        ISO-2 country code (when available).
      </ResponseField>

      <ResponseField name="aircraft_icao" type="string">
        Aircraft ICAO type designator.
      </ResponseField>
    </Expandable>
  </ResponseField>
</ResponseField>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Response theme={null}
  [
    {
      "hex": "780695",
      "reg_number": "B-5545",
      "flag": "CN",
      "lat": 28.397377,
      "lng": 115.1008,
      "alt": 7078,
      "dir": 269,
      "speed": 775,
      "v_speed": -7.8,
      "squawk": "0205",
      "flight_number": "9429",
      "flight_icao": "CSH9429",
      "flight_iata": "FM9429",
      "dep_icao": "ZSPD",
      "dep_iata": "PVG",
      "arr_icao": "ZGHY",
      "arr_iata": "HNY",
      "airline_icao": "CSH",
      "airline_iata": "FM",
      "aircraft_icao": "B738",
      "updated": 1626153069,
      "status": "en-route"
    }
  ]
  ```
</ResponseExample>

### Response (array view)

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Response theme={null}
  [
    ["140668", "NP", 55.879863, 37.159452, 310.1, 320],
    ["300164", "IT", 42.040581, 12.156564, 131, 1219]
  ]
  ```
</ResponseExample>

### See also

* [Airlines Dataset API](/api-reference/endpoints/airlines)